All The Blood Within Me by Magister Ludi Sir Kingsley Amis, author of One Fat English Man http://realini.blogspot.com/2022/08/one-fat-englishman-by-kingsley-amis.html and at least another fifteen masterpieces - 10 out of 10

 

All The Blood Within Me by Magister Ludi Sir Kingsley Amis, author of One Fat English Man http://realini.blogspot.com/2022/08/one-fat-englishman-by-kingsley-amis.html and at least another fifteen masterpieces

10 out of 10

 

 

All The Blood Within Me is the fifth short story in the collection written by the Holy Spirit Kingsley Amis – he was asked if he believed in God and said that ‘he does not just disbelieve in him, but he hates him' word’ to that effect – the tale that starts the series is My Enemy’s Enemy http://realini.blogspot.com/2022/11/my-enemys-enemy-by-magister-ludi.html one in which the author uses his experience during World War II, when he was enlisted and sent to a signals unit in Belgium.

 

The military episode in his life is used in the next two short stories, the second is Court of Inquiry, where the sarcasm and humor of the Master is in evidence, we see how absurd the army can be, for Major Raleigh is determined to punish a subordinate, Archer, just ‘to make a point’, the latter having lost a useless piece of equipment, an engine that did not function, had no spare parts, while one in good order, with additional pieces was available, without anyone making a claim, hence we have the definition of the preposterous in action.

For the third tale, I Spy Strangers, we have an introduction to life in parliament – I was thinking for the first few pages that we do witness the disputes in that honorable chamber, only to see it was ersatz – when the service men are waiting to be sent home, after the end of hostilities in 1945 in Europe (albeit some will get to travel to the Far East, where Japan is still fighting at the time, until the atomic bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki), to keep them busy, a mock parliament is on display.

 

Some outrageous views are aired, including one that would rather have Hitler around, to fight the Ruskies, while the opposite take is way too friendly to the Soviets, seen as friends – Jehovah Amis has a brilliant Science Fiction (he has been successful in all genres, except for theater, which I think he has not tried, but he has also been a poet) work, Russian Hide and Seek, where in the future, the Ruskies will have occupied Great Britain and much else http://realini.blogspot.com/2020/07/russian-hide-and-seek-by-kingsley-amis.html

from The Memoirs we find that The Master has been invited to dinner by Margaret Thatcher and he gave her the volume, and when she asked about the subject and found it, she replied that he must use his crystal ball for another theme, presumably not thrilled by the prospect of a Russian invasion (which seemed so impossible, and yet there they are, occupying the Ukraine, destroying the infrastructure, and plunging the population into darkness and freezing cold, as we speak) which will probably not happen, for…there will be a Chinese takeover of humanity, the way things look right now…

 

it is not just that they catch up economically, and they are soon to have the largest GDP in the world, but they have been building up militarily, and at the same time, they have hardened their stance, they have this gruesome Xi elected for life now – they used to have a limit for their supremo, but that is now gone – with all power concentrated in his hands, any rivals eliminated and in prison, and we could see what his doctrine is over the past years, when Hong Kong has lost its liberties, Uighurs have been sent to labor camps.

Then there is the waiting catastrophe that regards Taiwan, the realm that China wants to and will take if allowed – well, having written that, I realize that even if she is not permitted, let us keep on with she will take it, conflict over it or not, or else, we reach World War III in a different scenario, not with Putin using nuclear bombs, or attacking NATO territory, but with Xi fighting with America and then with its allies and with all involved, we can see the mess we will be in, in this future where communists are in charge…

 

After three military short stories, the fourth has a social worker in its sights, in Moral Fibre we have the usual matrix changed, if we are used to cherish the workers that help the needy, well, here we have a different scenario; it is not The Good Nurse https://notesaboutfilms.blogspot.com/2022/11/87-out-of-100-for-good-nurse.html a movie inspired by a real story, where this nurse has killed…hundreds of patients, but still, the social worker is the villain…

Webster (if that was the name, I am not bothered to check it, since nobody will bother to read this far, and if you are, well, what are you doing here, have you got nothing better to do or read, and if the answer is this text is terrific, then you are not troubled if the name is not Webster [which come to think of it, I think it is] but James) is boasting too much about what she has done for the hopeless case, Betty, even when it was not her doing, as for the meeting between the fallen woman and the Norwegian sailor.

 

Betty is at her peak when she is sleeping around, for she has joined the ‘business girls’, her zest is extreme, joy of life clear, so why insist on the Moral Fibre, when that is anyway relative (you have people who are in a stable, respectable relationship, but all they want is the money, as in they have one single customer for the sex they offer for cash, do they have the Fibre more than sex workers with multiple customers…I doubt it) and when Betty is back home, she is bored to death and extremely unhappy.

In All The Blood Within Me – yes, a couple lines on the alleged subject of the note are coming – Alec has loved Betty and the latter has just died, the 64 years old man is attending the funeral and we have thoughts on how to depart (I put it here, in a sort of hidden will, that I want the cheapest sent off, with a song maybe, Mad Man Song by Tears for Fears perhaps) and we see the sadness of a love that was awkward…For ‘Alec never mentioned it, never mind do something about it’ since Betty was married to Jim…oh, and the latter knew about it

 

http://realini.blogspot.com/2022/11/the-russian-girl-by-magister-ludi.html

http://realini.blogspot.com/2022/09/i-like-it-here-by-glorious-kingsley.html

http://realini.blogspot.com/2022/06/take-girl-like-you-by-kingsley-amis-one.html